Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro will be included in China’s state-run health insurance scheme starting January 1, the National Healthcare Security Administration announced Sunday. The move will make the once-weekly injectable therapy more accessible to patients with type 2 diabetes.
Inclusion on the national reimbursement list typically expands public access in China, home to 1.4 billion people, though lower negotiated prices can offset potential sales gains.
Mounjaro entered the Chinese market in January, following the launch of Novo Nordisk’s similar therapy, Ozempic, in 2021. Ozempic was added to China’s reimbursement list in 2022, and its sales in Greater China reached 5.76 billion Danish crowns ($898.5 million) in 2024, according to Novo Nordisk’s annual report.
Eli Lilly has not yet disclosed the government-negotiated price of Mounjaro under the reimbursement scheme. The drug is also marketed in China for obesity and obstructive sleep apnea.
Patrik Jonsson, Eli Lilly’s international president, said in an October earnings call that the company observed “initial stocking” in markets outside the U.S., with China, Brazil, Mexico, and India among the largest. He added that the drug has continued to perform strongly in those markets through the third quarter.
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